Every time I get sad and homesick, something wonderful happens.  Last night - three fantastic and magical moments happened.  We were sitting inside at our little table and watching the sunset - it is like nothing I have every seen - the colors are in layers, like a rainbow, but red, orange, and purple.  
   As the sun set and it became dark, I turned around in my chair and looked out the window behind me.  Eno, our neighbor's horse, was standing right outside the window.  We opened the window (no screens yet) and he stuck his head inside to be petted!  Sam, our Border Collie, went crazy and stood up on hind legs to see the horse.  It was so funny!  We fed Eno carrots through the window.  
   The third moment was later on, right before we went to bed.  We went outside and looked at the stars.  I have never seen so many (even up in the Rocky Mountains) or seen the Milky Way so clearly.  

"There's a Colonial woman on the wing of the plane.  There is something they're not telling us.  She was out there churning butter!   She was churning butter!"  Bridesmaids - Annie Walker (Krisen Wiig)

     I really am a Colonial or pioneer woman; take your choice of time frames.  We left the bed and breakfast two days ago and have spent two nights in our new little house.  We FINALLY got electricity, but we neglected to install light fixtures or buy lamps.  We rushed out to a light and lamp store, eager to use that electricity.   We have no gas yet - so not hot water and no way to cook.  
     So - good ole thinking dictated that we buy a toaster and a crock pot.  I just put an Osso Bucco stew into the crock pot.  Our kitchen cabinets were delivered, but we have no countertops or a sink yet.  So Pioneer Woman washed veggies in the bathroom, peeled and chopped them (with no cutting board) while sitting at the table.  We do have a refrigerator and a wood stove.  Just got the wood stove hooked up last night and were finally warm (after we city folks figured out how to start a fire).  The night before we bought an electric heater and it broke about 2:00 in the morning, so we froze - it was 34 degrees outside.  We got up this morning and found kindling and firewood and made the fire for the winter day.  See?  Pioneers!
     The doggies are settling in.  They've had to spend 2 days in the truck, as we had errands to run and their fenced in area by the house was too muddy from torrential rain.  They are freaked out by the horses that wander around our property from next door.  When the dogs were in the truck waiting for us one day, the horses surrounded the truck and looked in the windows at the Sam and Gracie.  Of course, Sam and Gracie went nuts!
     The toilet finally works without having to lift the back and manually push things to flush - ha!  It's the little things that are so important. 
     We found a cute table, 4 chairs, and 2 nightstands last thing yesterday afternoon.  Now we have a place to sit, besides the mattress.  We cannot find a decent shower curtain anywhere.  It's like a treasure hunt every time we enter a store - returning the broken heater was like living a sitcom!  We were successful, though and everyone is very nice if you at least try a few words of Spanish.  

"Hurry up, Goldenrod, or you're gonna be a permanent resident!"  -  Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Han Solo (Harrison Ford)

     We named this horse, Fred, although he's not ours.  He likes to stand in the middle of the road in Pueblo Eden, the closest village to us.  Fred serves as a reminder that one should not hurry.  We've begged, pleaded, and cajoled him to move out of the road, all in vain.  Just back up, turn around, an d go the other way.  Fred ain't moving!
    Keep in mind that like Fred, things in Uruguay just don't move very quickly.  It turns out that construction in Uruguay doesn't happen quickly during the summer.  December - no, it's Christmas and parties.  January - no, it's 3 Kings Day and time for the beach.  February, are you crazy? Everyone's celebrating Carnaval (like Mardi Gras).